Every time I turn around, there seems to be a new website advertising a code academy or a new way to learn a language. With all of these options, it is important THAT YOU NEVER PAY FOR ANY ONLINE CODING COURSES. Some sites will only allow you to go a certain distance in your education, but after picking up the basics, you can move on past their pay-to-play options to bigger and better things.

Some recommended apps/websites for learning code (we are not sponsored by any of these companies):

Solo-Learn: An app that makes it fun to learn how to code with basic fill in the blank examples and quizzes. Highly recommended for blank-slate beginners.

w3 Schools:Excellent introductions to web-design and the go-to source for information on html, css, javascript, php, and more! They have certificates that serve as a good representation of competent web-design skills.

Udacity:Another source for excellent coding walkthroughs. These are generally for more advanced topics like application development. Plenty of free courses available! I highly recommend the Google-driven course on Android Development.

Specific Language API’s: After you learn the basic, you should be able to understand the terminology and syntax of your language of choice. Navigating the API is essential for going to the next level. In many cases, there already exists a method to accomplish a lot of what you might try to do. It is a matter of knowing what the names of the functions as well as there parameters before you can implement it in your code.

CodeFights: Do coding exercises that demonstrate your abilities and strengthen your problem-solving skills. Looks great for employers and helps you get experience using your language of choice to develop solutions.

There are many more excellent resources out there! Suggest your favorites in the comments!